


Broken Ornaments

by 24kriegs



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Blood and Violence, F/F, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Mental Health Issues, Promise, Violence, there's a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-07 01:00:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18399914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/24kriegs/pseuds/24kriegs
Summary: Alex understood exactly what the broken ornaments scattered all over the living room meant and it wasn’t good.





	1. Maggie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i found a piece i wrote back in like 2014 and i'm procrastinating my dissertation with this and i've ended up here (it's not my best, don't judge me)
> 
> **you can skip straight to chapter 4, which is happier stuffs, i wouldn't blame you**
> 
> unbeta'd as per

  
Maggie was picking up pizza for their group of friends who had all kindly given up their time to help the young couple move into their first house. She was sat inside the pizza place waiting for their order to be ready, beers already brought and in a paper bag at her feet. She opened a game on her phone to pass the time until her name was called.

Maggie paid the server and used the hand with the beer to support the bottom of the boxes whilst she held them with the other. A delivery driver held the door open for her, whom she thanked before heading back to her car. She slid the pizza boxes onto the roof of her car whilst she fished out her keys; unlocking the car, she piled the pizza and beers onto the passenger seat and settled herself in the driver's seat.

 

 **Maggie (7.06pm)** : Be back in 15 xo

 

Maggie sent the text off to Alex and discarded her phone along with her wallet into the beer bag. She started the ignition and pulled out of the parking space and began her journey back to her new home.

She’d made it a few blocks before she noticed something was wrong. Maggie saw the figure in the back but instantly felt cold metal on the back of her head and she knew it could only be one thing. A gruff, male voice came from the backseat of her car, she couldn’t see who it was, but she had a hunch. They NCPD and a team of D.E.O agents had been on the tail of a human serial killer who was targeting female aliens of various species. Yesterday Maggie had a breakthrough with her favourite CI and it had appeared that they’d finally found his hideout. The NCPD had stationed a team outside the building, staking it out, waiting for someone to walk into their trap. This must be the person she’s been searching for, he must’ve found out.

“Detective Maggie Sawyer of the NCPD Science Division. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I assume I don’t need any introduction.” He moves into view and Maggie can see his face in the rearview mirror. Maggie is struck by how young the man is, younger than her, she’d guess early twenties. She can tell that he’s tall and well built, she imagines that if she’d have seen him on the street she’d of probably thought him quite handsome, but knowing the intimate details of his crimes, the way he defiles his victims is enough to make her feel physically sick upon looking at his face.

In a split second, Maggie does a quick calculation in her head. Her gun is in the glove compartment and there’s no way she’d be able to get to it. The man in the back clocked her eyes dart to the glove compartment.

“Looking for this, detective?” He raises his other hand into view which holds Maggie’s gun. “Keep driving. I’ll tell you where to go.” Maggie just nods, knowing that her only option to get away is to jump out the car but by this point, they’d reached the highway which was too busy to be a safe option. She’d already missed her exit and knew that shortly Alex would begin to wonder where she was. Or at least she hoped.

Maggie continued to follow his directions and after a further thirty minutes of driving, they eventually came to a stop outside a barn in what felt like the middle of nowhere. Maggie was convinced he had her driving in circles to disorientate her. All she needed to be able to do was get to her phone so that she could press the lock button in a certain sequence which would alert her friends that she was in trouble. She just needed to work out a plan to get to her phone. The first mistake Maggie had made, as she normally drove with her phone in her lap in case of a call. But before she could act, a pair of handcuffs landed in her lap.

“Put those on.” She quickly realised they were standard issue police cuffs, her cuffs. “You really shouldn’t leave your things in the trunk, Maggie.” That’s when she realised. Her belt, jacket and holster where in her trunk so that they wouldn’t get lost in the move. She follows his instructions and puts the handcuffs on one wrist, tightens and then on the other which he quickly leans round to tighten. He instructs her to stay put and keeps the gun on her as he awkwardly climbs out of the back seat and opens the driver's door.

“Out.” He orders. She abides, climbing out of the car. He grabs the back of her jacket and shoves her slightly until she starts to walk and he closes the door behind her. They walk round to the passenger door which he opens. “I’m glad you brought snacks. I’m a little peckish.” He laughs in her ear and thrusts the pizza boxes into Maggie’s bound hands. “Don’t drop them.”

Maggie uses all her strength to awkwardly twist her hands in the cuffs to try to gain some form of control over the large boxes. He grabs her phone out of the bag and pockets it. He grabs the bag and directs Maggie into the barn. There’s a white van inside which he unlocks and opens the back after putting down the bag of beer. He takes the pizza boxes and puts them on the floor before he shoves Maggie into the back. Undoing her handcuffs, he attaches them to a bar that runs the length of the van but is attached to the middle van’s ceiling in many places. Because the bar is above Maggie’s head, it forces her to stand with her arms up and causing her to be unsteady on her feet as she has nothing to rest on and a quick observation of the way the bar is attached tells her that she’s stuck in the middle.

“You’re quieter than I thought you would be. But I’m still going to gag you.” He smiles as he picks up a piece of rag and tightly gag’s Maggie. She doesn’t protest. “Huh, you’re not even trying to make this difficult.” Maggie’s experience tells her that she could try to fight now, but he has the upper hand and the gun. The most she’d be able to really do is kick him and the way he has her cuffed in the van, it would be difficult for her to be effective even with her personal and professional training.

Once he’s happy Maggie is secure, he pulls out her phone, admiring the photo she’d set as her background earlier that morning. A selfie of herself and Alex with their keys, in front of their new front door, both women smiling happily, excited for the new adventure they were embarking on. He pulls a spool out of a pocket from the inside of his jacket and pops the SIM card section open. He snaps the SIM and takes another look at Maggie’s lock screen, “It’s a shame you’ll never see her again.” He shows her the image and she feels her heart jump at the look of pure happiness on Alex’s face. She can’t believe it’s the same day, except now she can’t help but wonder if she’ll even see Alex again. He smirks at her before jumping out of the van, grabbing the pizza boxes and slamming the door shut, plunging Maggie into darkness. She feels the engine start before being knocked backwards by the lurch of the van as it begins to move. She begins to yank and move against the bar in an attempt to free herself but she knows she doesn’t have the strength to break the bar, nor all its attachments. Instead, Maggie draws on what her training tells her and tries to remember the journey but after many sharp turns, her focus shifts to merely staying on her feet and keeping the pressure off her tightly cuffed wrists. The darkness and feeling like she’s being thrown around leaves Maggie disorientated to the point where she can no longer tell how long they’ve been driving for.

They finally come to a stop and Maggie is left in the van. It’s then that she notices how much her cheeks and wrists hurt. The tightly bound gag and cuffs have dug into her skin and she can feel the burn as she moves her cheeks signalling that they’re cut. Her focus is firmly on survival and hoping that her girlfriend and their friends have noticed her absence and are on the case. She begins to think of Alex and how happy this day was supposed to be. And how happy it had been, they received the keys that morning and Alex had been driving back and forth with Kara moving their possessions in boxes, Alex utilising having a sister with super strength. Maggie is pulled from her thoughts by banging on the side of the van, there’s a short period of silence before she hears the rear doors open, spilling artificial light into the van. Before her eyes can adjust, he’s on her and in a swift move, he’s uncuffed her from the bar and re-cuffed her hands tightly behind her back.

Maggie can feel his breath on her neck, making her hair stand on end, “Move.” He growls in her ear. She tentatively steps forward, still disorientated until she feels the cold metal on the back of her head once again.

“I said, move.” This time she steps more confidently until she reaches the edge of the van when he shoves her in the back, causing her to fall. Unable to use her arms to break the fall, she attempts to twist her body to protect her face, but in doing so she lands awkwardly on her shoulder, the impact popping her joint out of its socket. She cries out in pain through the gag, the rag digging even deeper into her face.

He laughs and yanks her up before moving her across the dark room which causes Maggie to wither in more pain. He left her arm dislocated and cuffed her to a pole that bends behind her. He helps her to sit on top of a plastic tarp and against a bent pole that is attached to the floor and wall but bends at such a low height that she has to sit leaning back to try to protect her shoulder from further damage. In this position she’s just as unstable as she was in the van. He pulls her legs out from underneath her and ties her feet together using multiple techniques on top of each other. Not that it would matter, with her busted shoulder there was no way she was going to be able to get out of these restraints without drawing attention to herself. He attaches the leg restraints to another pole by yanking Maggie down until she was lying on her back with her arms stretched above her head, unable to move. She grunts in pain with every tug and attempts to create some slack against the restraints but he keeps pulling until her body is straight and the rope is taut.

Maggie suddenly felt helpless, her fate resting in her faith that Alex would be coming for her. Up until this point she had felt as if she’d had some form of control over the situation. Maggie was simply biding her time to fight back, to escape, but he had rendered her completely powerless. Panic began to rise within her as he pulled a set of blades into her vision. Having studied his methods meticulously, she knew what was coming. She closed her eyes and felt her body tense waiting for the inevitable.

“It’s no fun that you know what I’m going to do.” He sighs, disappointment evident in his voice. Maggie slowly opens her eyes and trains her gaze on him. “It’s not going to stop me though.” A wicked smile grows on his face and he moves closer to Maggie until he’s crouched by her side. He picks a knife from the sleeve and uses it to cut her top open, exposing her torso to the cool air. He uses the same blade to cut through Maggie’s jacket, unfortunately for her, it was just a windbreaker, meaning the material separated easily and in no time at all. Shortly, the top part of her body was only left with her bra on.

“Alex was lucky.” He smirks, looking at Maggie’s bare skin. Sickness floods her body at the mention of her girlfriend name, she pulls against the restraints once more but it’s a futile effort. Every action just makes him laugh a little harder. A sharp scratch against her stomach makes her stop moving. She looks down and see’s blood slowly beginning to emerge from the graze of the blade. His use of past tense is not lost on her and as she sees the blood begin to run, it feels more and more like her reality.

“You’re a puzzle, detective. I had a plan, one you clearly know well. But now you’re in front of me, I have the urge to do something a little different. He uses a piece of her top that he’d cut away to wipe at the shallow cut. “I think I’d like to watch you bleed instead.”

He hums as he runs his fingers over the handles of each blade. “Which one to use.” With a smirk on his face, he pulls a smaller blade. He takes his time slicing away at Maggie’s stomach, initially she’d move - as much as the restraints would allow - in pain but as her skin became more torn, the pain plateaued, a pool of blood forming under her back, creating a weird sensation between her skin and the tarp. She felt him cut her belt and yank her jeans down, causing her body to pull on the cuffs, causing a whole new ripple of pain to run through her, resulting in Maggie getting dizzy and feeling the world slowly slipping away.  
He began to carve up her thighs as he spoke. “You know, you’re quite pretty. But you won’t be by the time I’m finished.” That was the last thing she heard before she passed out from a mixture of pain and blood loss.

 

——

 

Maggie came back to consciousness with the feeling of being thrown around and opted to keep her eyes shut and her body as naturally still as she could. She couldn’t tell where she was but she could no longer feel the bloodied plastic tarp underneath her. In fact, she couldn’t feel much other than white hot pain shooting throughout her body.  
“We’re nearly there Maggie. We’re gonna get you help.” A voice broke through the overwhelming noise. The voice was friendly and familiar but she couldn’t place it. The motion of being thrown around stopped with a thud and suddenly she could hear again, the noise of sirens snapped her eyes open. It took a moment to adjust but she could make out what appeared to be blonde hair above her.  
“Kara?” Her voice cracked as she spoke, barely above a whisper.  
“Oh thank god, you’re awake.” Kara looks down to Maggie. “Hey! Help! I need some help over here!” She suddenly shouts causing Maggie to flinch at the noise. She feels her body move until she lands on what she assumes is a gurney.  
“Alex.” She mutters before her eyes closed and she lost consciousness once again.

 

  
——

 

  
A while later Maggie wakes with a start, panic and confusion coursing through her body. Unable to see anything other than a bright light she begins to try to move from where ever she was. The noise around her grew but she couldn’t focus on it. Pain surged through her shoulder and head as she struggled against something that felt like wires. She quickly realised she was being held down. It was then she began to scream and struggle more violently. Maggie felt herself losing control of her body, as the sounds around her became more focused and she felt herself slipping away.  
“Maggie. You’re okay.” She knew that voice, but her world went dark before she could fully process anything.

 

——

 

The next time Maggie woke, she felt as if she was floating. “Hey. You’re awake. You are safe Maggie. Just don’t try to move too much.” The voice pulled her through the fog, she tried to open her eyes and after a few minutes her eyes had fully adjusted and she could see the face she’d been longing for.

“Alex.” Maggie croaks, her throat dry and scratchy. Alex holds a glass of water in front of her and brings the straw to her lips. Maggie takes a small drink. “Where are we?”

“We’re at the hospital. How are you feeling?” Maggie takes a minute to respond.

“Reeeeeeeally high.” She whispers as if it’s some kind of secret.

“Yeah,” Alex laughs a little at Maggie’s response. “You’re on some strong pain meds.” She reasons.

“What happened?” Maggie’s voice is small and confused.

“Do you not remember?”

“I went to get pizza.” Maggie replies confidently. When Alex doesn’t respond straight away, Maggie grows concerned. “What happened to me, Alex?”

“You got hurt, Maggie. We managed to find you and Kara flew you here. She said you woke up for a little when you arrived.” Maggie was quiet for a while, trying to remember.

“What happened to me?” She persists, already knowing she must be hurt to be on strong pain killers and in the hospital. She knows Alex normally just patches her up or it’s a quick stop at medical in the D.E.O before she’s sent on her way. Maggie reasons that it must be serious if she’s in hospital and Alex isn’t telling her.

“The details aren’t important right now, you just need to focus on getting better, okay?” Maggie sighs and shuts her eyes but reopens them with a start, jolting her body and causing immense pain to radiate throughout. Instead of seeing the galaxy behind her eyes, she saw his face, grinning, boasting almost. Her mind transports her back to the start of the evening as she remembers some of his actions, she remembers falling out of the van but nothing more. She knows that there’s more.

“No, Alex. What did he do to me?” she asks sternly, the floating affects from the drugs long gone due to the pain she’d just caused.

Alex shifts in her seat and her demeanour changes slightly. She speaks with authority, pulling out her best agent voice to dissociate.

“We don’t know exactly. You had a dislocated right shoulder and tissue damage, multiple lacerations all over your body but focused mainly on your torso and upper thighs. You had a lot of blood loss and…well…” Alex’s strong facade falters.  
“You don’t have to say it. I’ve studied his cases…I know.” Her voice cracks as she reaches the end of her sentence, a heaviness settling in her chest.

“No, Maggie. He didn’t. He was shot before he could.”

“He’s dead?” Maggie’s voice is small again, she’s afraid of the response.

“No. But we’ve got him on 12 counts of murder and attempted murder and that’s just the surface. He’s never seeing the light of day again, Maggie. You’re safe.” The heaviness lifts a little but it’s only given way to panic.

“Where is he? You said he was shot, is he here?” panic well and truly settling in, her heartbeat quickens causing the various machines to begin to beep.

“He’s at the D.E.O., he won’t see the light of day again Mags. You’re safe, I need you to try to calm down. You never have to see him again.” Alex’s voice is calm and soft but assertive, letting Maggie know that the situation was looked after. Alex reached for her hand and places Maggie’s palm against her stomach and instructs her girlfriend to follow her breathing. Eventually, Alex manages to calm Maggie down, her heart rate returning to a steady pace. The couple remains in soft silence, both of them taking time to process.

 

“So,” Alex breaks the silence, “I should probably tell you about your injuries.” Maggie nods, shifting her attention back to Alex. Her body had begun to ache and it was going to be her next question.

“Uh, you had to have surgery on your shoulder. They corrected the dislocation and repaired the ligaments and things that had torn. Hence the sling.” Maggie looked down for the first time and noticed the sling. She’d been too preoccupied with Alex and the floating feeling to notice anything else. It was then that she also saw the cuts on her arms. “They’ve stitched up the cuts, so you need to be fairly still otherwise you’ll reopen them again.”

“Again?” Maggie interrupts confused.

“Yeah. You woke up earlier and freaked out. They think you were confused or thought you were still…back there.”

“Oh. I heard your voice and then, well-” Maggie abruptly stops talking, feeling panic rise remembering the feeling of fading into darkness, she attempts to control her breathing as Alex continues to talk.

“They sedated you to stop you from causing any more damage to yourself. You were supposed to be waking up from surgery but you seemed in pain so they upped your pain meds as well.”

“I thought I’d died.” Maggie mumbles quietly, “I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologise. None of this is your fault.” Alex reassures her, “I’m just glad you’re alive.” she continues softly. The couple share a quiet moment, the thought that they wouldn’t see each other again had lingered for both of them and they took a moment to revel in the fact that they were both still here, with each other. Alex is the one to break the moment, remembering there was more to tell Maggie, “They also think you have a concussion.”. Maggie groans in response.

“That fits.”

“I should probably go and tell them that you’re awake.” Maggie just nods, sinking into the pillow behind her head. “Mags?” Alex mumbles causing Maggie to turn her head slightly to look back at her girlfriend. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Danvers.” Maggie replies, a small smile on her face.

“I’ll be right back.” Alex squeezes her hand and quickly gets up and leaves the room. Maggie closes her eyes, having nothing else to focus on, she begins to feel the pain. Her body aches, she feels heavy and her head is thumping. But the knowledge that Alex is here brings her a level of comfort that she had been craving all evening.

 

————

  
Three surgeries, a new shoulder joint and months upon months of physical rehab and therapy saw Maggie eventually return to work. Whilst she was chained to a desk and kept off anything too serious or disturbing, she was glad to be back. Even though her captain was treating her like an incompetent rookie and monitoring her closely, it felt good to be back at the station; to be surrounded by the bustle and banter of her friends and colleagues. She was grateful for all the things her squad had done for her, but mostly that they took the pressure off Alex without overstepping. Whenever Alex got called away to an emergency at the D.E.O., someone from the squad showed up to sit with her, they guarded her room throughout the duration of her hospital stay. They brought groceries and pre-cooked homemade dinners for the women to reheat. Patty even attended her physical therapy and drove Maggie to see her therapist to give Alex a break sometimes. They’d all gone above and beyond for her, but they knew that she would and has done the exact same for many of them and those who had come before.

She wasn’t cleared for active duty due to the PTSD issues she was facing. But Maggie believed that one day she’d be able to work through it; even if that meant she would have to ride the desk at work for the rest of her career and attend her dreaded biweekly therapy sessions. She was determined to not let this take over her life. She had plans. Plans that she very much wanted to see through and nothing was going to stand in her way. Maggie wasn’t oblivious to the fact that things weren’t going to happen on her timeline, that for a while things would be in her way, but she had hope. Hope that one day she wouldn’t be paralysed by fear or so far in her head that she can’t hear Alex’s voice trying to pull her through the other side of a vivid flashback.  
For now, she used those plans as an anchor pulling her forward through life. Those plans made the pain worth it. They enabled Maggie to see where her life could go when she felt she couldn’t go on anymore. They pushed her to keep ahold of Alex, to be present in their relationship. It was a reminder to love Alex in every way she could.


	2. Alex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A different perspective of events.

Alex’s phone chimed in the back pocket of her jeans, signalling she had a text.

 

 **Maggie (7.06pm):** Be back in 15 xo

 

She didn’t bother to respond, instead heading out of their bedroom and downstairs into the kitchen where Kara and Lena are carefully unpacking the contents of the couples kitchen boxes and attempting to organise it ready to be put away. “Maggie’s on her way back. Would you be able to find the plates for me, please? They should be in box 12.”

“On it. We’ll shout when she gets here.” Lena responds throwing Alex a playful salute.

“Thank you, guys. I- we really appreciate all the help.”

“Don’t look at me, I’m just here for the free food.” Kara jokes, Alex shakes her head at her sister and makes her way back through a path of empty boxes and bubble wrap up to their bedroom.

“Ah, just in time. Can you pass me that screw?” J’onn asks as she walks into the room. She scans the carpet, quickly locating the screw in question and passes it over to J’onn before taking hold of the bedpost for him. He screws the post into the panel and they repeat the process on the other side until the frame of their bed is standing. “You just need to find the slats and fix them into the diverts and then you’re good to go with the mattress.”

“You’re a star, thank you so much J’onn.”

“It’s no problem, Alex. If you know where the slats are I’d be happy to finish this off, you’ve got a lot left to do.” J’onn was right. There was so much left to do. Maggie was supposed to have had the day off, but an emergency at work saw her take off just after lunchtime. Without Kara’s help, Alex would probably still be moving boxes down the stairs of their old apartment building. However, Maggie being gone for a good few hours gave Alex the opportunity to pick up their new bed that she planned to surprise Maggie with. They’d had the same bed for years and kept putting off buying a new one because they were saving for a house, by the time they had purchased this one, they’d saved enough for the bed they’d been looking at for the past few months. And whilst Maggie wouldn’t say it, Alex knew their old mattress was starting to hurt her back so she knew she was safe making such a large purchase without Maggie knowing.

Alex found the slats and dragged the rolled mattress into the bedroom for J’onn and made her way back down the stairs, this time stopping in the living room. She began to move boxes from the centre of the room to the outskirts. When Kara realised what Alex was doing she joined her, and began to take the unsorted boxes that Alex had moved to the right area of the house, mainly the upstairs guest bedroom to be sorted for their own bedroom. Whilst Kara was moving backwards and forwards without breaking a sweat, Alex removed the bubble wrap from a few of the dining room chairs and the coffee table. She found the right cushions for the couches and put them back together before creating a circle around the table. As she was finishing up manoeuvring furniture, Lena brought out enough plates for everyone. Alex pulled her phone from her back pocket to check the time.

 

**7.17pm.**

 

Maggie should be back soon she thought to herself as she returned her phone to her pocket. “Hey Luthor, any good at setting up TV’s?”

“I imagine that’s something within my skill set.”

“If you don’t mind…”

“Of course. It’s literally what I’m here for Alex.” Alex laughs softly,

“Thank you, Lena.” She leaves Lena searching for the right remotes and cables and heads into the kitchen where they’ve unwrapped everything for her. She begins to put things away in the places she knows Maggie is most likely to put them based on the reorganising she did of Alex’s kitchen cupboards when she moved into her apartment. Since Maggie did most of the cooking back then, Alex wasn’t going to argue. But that’s something she’s slowly been changing. If she’s home before Maggie Alex has started cooking, initially to Maggie’s horror, but over time, her cooking has gotten better, albeit with a little (a lot) of help from her girlfriend.

Before she knows it, Kara is stood in the doorway of the kitchen, trying to get her attention as Alex has her head buried in the cupboard under the sink, arranging cleaning products. “Al, have you heard from Maggie?”

“Yeah,” Alex huffs, sitting up on the floor. “she said she’d be about 15 minutes.”

“And when was that?” Alex gives her sister a quizzical look.

“Around 7, why?”

“It’s been way longer than 15 minutes Alex.”

“Alright, don’t be so impatient. I’m sure she’s just hit some traffic or something.”

“You do realise it’s nearly 8, right?”

“What?” Alex shifts her weight to her left side and pulls her phone from her back pocket.

 

**7.54pm.**

 

“Oh.” Alex looks up at Kara. “Maggie left the pizza place about 50 minutes ago, if she hit traffic she’d have called by now.” Alex pulls up the map on her phone and checks the route to the pizza place, as she suspected, there were no traffic alerts. Next, she pulled up Find Friends and waited for Maggie’s location to load. By the time it popped up as ‘location not available’ everyone has gathered in the kitchen. “I think something is wrong.” Worry laces Alex’s voice, “There’s no traffic and I can’t locate her. She should’ve been back ages ago. Oh god. How did I not notice?” She begins to ramble as she stands up.

“Alex, hey, look at me. Maggie is going to be fine. She probably just got lost.” Maggie knows this city like the back of her hand, being lost was not a reasonable argument for the fact she hadn’t returned, but it was much better than any other possibility. “Why don’t you try calling her?” Alex nods, ignoring the worried glances being exchanged between the others, she dials Maggie’s number but is met with a dead tone and a computer message letting her know the call could not be connected. Alex hasn’t even hung up her call before J’onn is on the phone with the D.E.O. Lena moves to comfort Alex whilst Kara pulls out her own phone and calls Maggie’s partner, Patty, at the NCPD to see if she had heard from her.

“Winn. I need you to put out an APB for Maggie’s car registration to all NCPD officers..” J’onn orders down the phone before walking out of the kitchen, presumably thinking that Alex wouldn’t be able to hear him. “Her phone is dark and she was supposed to be back a while ago. We’ve checked the local traffic and nothing has been reported….Given the nature of her work and considering she’s been on the tail of that serial killer, I don’t want to take any chances. We might not have that luxury…If you find anything call me immediately.” J’onn hangs up and returns to the kitchen, “We’ll find out what’s going on Alex.” He says reassuringly but Alex doesn’t find any comfort in his words.

With everything that had happened in the personal lives today, Alex had almost forgotten about the monster Maggie had been hunting. Whilst Maggie had spared her most of the gory details, she knew the general style of the killer's attacks and knew that if Maggie was in the company of whoever was responsible for them, she was in trouble. Alex had to find her girlfriend, she had to know that she was okay. And so, she pushed her way through her group of friends, found a jacket and picked up her holster and gun. J’onn’s phone rang, causing Alex to stop moving towards the front door and instead clipped on her holster and checked her rounds her gun, checking the safety before securing it in her holster. She shifts her weight backwards and forwards, on edge and no longer wanting to be in the house without Maggie.

“That was Winn. He’s managed to trace her car to an abandoned barn. And uh. It appears she drove there but not at her own free will.”

“Then let’s go.” Alex turns to walk out the door, Kara, who at some point had changed into her Supergirl outfit, quickly following behind.

“Alex, hold up.” Kara grabs her sisters arm, forcing her to stop walking.

“I’ve got the location, follow me there?” J’onn instructs Kara, who nods before casting a gaze back to Lena who is stood in the doorway of the house.

“Go, I’ll stay here. Let me know if you find her.” Lena says, knowing that she probably won’t be much help on the scene.

 

**8.07pm**

 

J’onn takes flight, followed by Kara and Alex. They quickly arrive at the abandoned barn and whilst Alex finds her feet, Kara scans the area, finding no sign of life, meaning they must’ve moved on to another location.

Kara and J’onn begin to search Maggie’s car and find her keys are still in the ignition. Whilst they busy themselves with the search, Alex notices two sets of footprints leading into the barn which she assumes are Maggie’s and her attackers. Alex follows the tracks into the building. She spots the tire tracks in the dirt, leading out to the other side of the barn. Alex inspects the area around where the sets of footprints go from two to one and deduces that Maggie must’ve been put into the back of a van from the width of the tracks and the direction of the footprints. She turns to walk back to J’onn and Kara when something blue catches her eye in the dirt. It’s close to the entrance of the barn she’d used and headed over to inspect it further. A SIM card. That would explain Maggie’s phone being dead. She reports back to the others and J’onn calls Winn for an update.

“Okay. We’re waiting for an ID on the man. Winn is working on tracing the van, he’s clever, they’ve taken roads without camera’s but he’s doing everything he can.” J’onn relays to the worried women with him. “As soon as Winn has a rough location, we’ll know.”

Kara was about to respond when a group of squad cars pulled into the barn, led by Patty, Maggie’s partner, who quickly exits her cruiser when she sees the three of them stood around Maggie’s car. “Alex. Director J’onzz. Supergirl.” She greets each of them, “what are we dealing with?” She asks matter of factly.

“We believe it’s the serial killer you’ve both been looking for. They were here, we need the NCPD to secure the scene and be on stand by to provide support to the D.E.O.” J’onn informs her, she nods and turns to instruct the officers stood outside their cars. J’onn’s phone chimes with a location which he tells Kara to go and search. Before Alex can protest about taking her, Kara has flown away. “She’ll let us know when she finds her, and we’ll be there. I promise you Alex. We will find her. Winn has dispatched agents and the NCPD to the area and they’re performing their own searches.” Alex doesn’t say anything, knowing that J’onn and everyone else is doing their jobs, but she can’t help but feel slightly powerless. They’re joined once again by Patty as Kara come’s in over the comms.

“I’m on my way back to you. Be ready.” And like that, Kara swoops in, grabs Alex and returns to the sky before landing outside of an abandoned warehouse. J’onn and Patty followed behind them. “Agents are on their way, but I say we move. Now.”

“Lead the way.” Alex deadpans, reaching for her gun and taking off the safety. She’s completely unprepared for what she might find but is hoping that her training will kick in and she’ll be able to divorce her emotions from the job at hand. Alex knows the aim is to take the man alive, to arrest him, make him pay for his crimes. But it isn’t half tempting to want to put a bullet through his heart. She knows that she could. If Maggie is hurt, she just might.

 

** 8.32pm **

 

J’onn turns to say something to Patty that Alex can’t hear and the four of them make their way through the building until according to Kara they reach the door leading to the room where she believes Maggie to be. Alex adjusts her grip on her gun and Patty takes lead.

“On my mark,” Patty whispers. “Three, two-“ she nods and Kara blasts the door open. Kara leads them through the door and all four of them shout various warnings to the man who is leant over a tied up and bleeding Maggie. Alex feels her heart sink, realising that Maggie hasn’t reacted to the ruckus. The man isn’t stopping or moving away from Maggie and Alex raises her gun, lining up her shot but before she can take it, a gunshot rings through the room and the man falls to the far side of Maggie. They all converge on the man, except for Alex who beelines for Maggie, instantly reaching for the pulse point on her neck.

“Oh thank god.” She mumbles when she feels a faint beat against her fingers, realising that Maggie was only unconscious. “Maggie. It’s okay. I’ve got you.” She mumbles as she works at cutting away the restraints holding her hands. Kara uses her laser vision to remove the bounds from her feet.

“Is she…”

“Just. She needs medical attention.”

“On it.” Kara moves to pick her up but Alex stops her.

“Wait.” Alex carefully brings Maggie’s arms down from above her, clocking Maggie’s dislocated shoulder. “Okay, you can pick her up, just watch that arm. It’s dislocated.” Kara carefully scoops Maggie into her arms whilst Alex supports her head. She takes off her jacket and drapes it over Maggie’s cut body and presses a soft kiss to her forehead making a silent promise to be back by her side as soon as she could. “Go.” Alex instructs and Kara takes off with Maggie securely in her arms.

 

** 8.36pm **

 

Alex shifts from kneeling to sitting on the blood-soaked tarp. She closes her eyes for a moment, telling herself that Maggie was safe. Everything was okay. At least as okay as they could be considering. When she reopens her eyes the room is a lot busier, D.E.O agents had arrived and were canvassing the scene. It’s then that she realises that it’s not just a room, it’s a garage. The van sat idle just a few meters away. A selection of knives resting on the edge of the pool of blood.

J’onn makes his way over to her and crouches down to her level, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Alex.” His voice is strong but comforting. “Maggie is going to be okay. You got him.”

“I didn’t take the shot.”

“I know. But you got to Maggie. Plus, we have the bastard.”

“I should have taken the god damn shot.”

“You did exactly what you needed to do. Patty had a non-lethal shot and took it. He’s going to pay for his crimes, Alex. This is the right outcome. It doesn’t matter who did or didn’t take the shot. No one else got hurt.” But Maggie did. Alex wishes she could agree with him. But the only reason she didn’t have the shot was that she was so distracted with the state Maggie was in. Sure, she’d seen the woman with gunshots and shrapnel wounds. They’d been through plenty of life and death situations throughout their relationship, but she had never seen her girlfriend look so vulnerable.

“Maggie.” Alex sighs. “I need to get to the hospital. I have to be with her.”

“Alex, slow down. Kara is there and she’s being rushed into surgery right now.”

“And? I need to be there.”

“You’re covered in blood. Let me at least take you to the D.E.O so you can shower and change before we go to the hospital.”

“But Maggie-“

“Kara?” J’onn cuts her off, pressing a finger against the comm in his ear. “How’s Maggie?”

“They stabilised her and have literally just taken her into surgery. It’s going to be a long night but there’s nothing more we can do for her right now. I’ll stay here and let Lena know what’s going on. Please, look after Alex.” She says to J’onn before turning her attention to her sister who is also able to hear their conversation through the comms. “Al, I need you to let J’onn do his job, okay? Do what he says. I’m not leaving here. Maggie will be okay, she’s strong.”

“Okay.” Alex replies, knowing that Kara is right.

She gives in and allows J’onn to take her to the DEO where she has a quick shower to get the blood off her body and changes into a free set of clothes that she keeps in a locker. As soon as she was dressed J’onn flew them to the hospital and after a brief conversation with a receptionist, he leads the way to Maggie’s room. He’s about to open the door to her suite when Alex stops him. He removes his hand from the for handle and turns to face his agent, placing his hand instead on Alex’s shoulder. Alex meets his eyes, knowing that he could read what she was feeling.

 

** 8.54pm **

 

“You don’t need to be scared, Alex. Maggie is strong. She’ll be okay. And so will you. We will all get through this together. We’re a family.” He says steadily, Alex almost believes him. “We can stay for as long as you want, if you need a break, you’ve got it. One of us will stay with her if it gets too much. We’ve all got both your backs, Al.” Alex swallows hard and slowly nods her head.

“Okay.” The determined resolve faltering, petrified of the condition she’s about to find her girlfriend in. Alex can’t and doesn’t want to imagine the extent of Maggie’s injuries. J’onn gives her shoulder a gentle squeeze before removing his hand and turning back to the door. He lets Alex take another deep breath before twisting the handle and entering the room. Kara -who was sat by Maggie’s bedside- instantly stands up, moving swiftly to pull Alex into a hug. Kara pulls back slightly and turns her head to whisper in her ear,

“J’onn’s right, you know. We’re all here for you and Maggie. She’s strong.” Alex knows that Kara and J’onn are right but her eyes haven’t left Maggie’s face. Considering everything, Alex can’t help but notice how peaceful Maggie looks. It strikes her as odd, the amount of trauma Maggie’s body has been through, yet she still looks so at ease. As Kara pulls away from the hug, Alex shifts her gaze to the rest of the bed. Maggie’s body is covered by sheets and a blanket, her left arm is in a sling whilst the other rests on top of the blanket. Alex can see cuts and bruises from the restraints around her exposed wrist and her cheeks. Alex feels as if the wind has been knocked out of her. Sure, she’d seen Maggie at the scene, but she’d been so preoccupied with the thought of keeping her alive that she hadn’t stopped to really take in the full extent of the injuries her girlfriend had sustained. Alex hasn’t moved since they entered the room; Kara and J’onn exchanged worried looks until Alex slowly approached the right side of the bed.

“Oh Mags.” Alex says under her breath as she places her hands on the edge of the bed, slightly scared to touch Maggie for fear of causing her more pain.

“Why don’t we give you a minute? Kara, let’s go find a doctor and see if we can’t get some information.” J’onn speaks but Alex isn’t really listening, her focus only on Maggie. She’s aware of them leaving the room but her focus doesn’t shift. Suddenly, she feels a little braver and gently strokes her fingertips against Maggie’s. After thirty seconds or so, she proceeds to loosely hold Maggie’s right hand, careful of the cuts and bruises on her wrist. Alex is surprised at how warm the woman is and gently leans to place the back of her free hand on Maggie’s forehead, feeling her burning up. She knows that it’s not unusual for fevers to develop post surgery and that most are harmless and disappear within 48 hours, but Alex can’t help but worry. She’s about to start talking when there’s a soft rap on the door before it slowly opens, and Kara, J’onn and a woman who introduces herself as Doctor Mendez enters the room.

“Hi, you must be Alex. I’m doctor Mendez, lead on Ms. Sawyer’s case.” Alex glances towards the doctor, acknowledging her presence before reverting her gaze back to Maggie.

“As I’m sure you’re aware she has a number of injuries. Firstly, an inferior dislocation of the left shoulder, which means that the top of her humorous has been pushed downwards, out of its joint. This is why she had surgery - to attempt to ret the joint and repair ligament and nerve damage caused. We believe that the shoulder was not dislocated long enough for the blood supply to be permanently affected, time will tell with that I’m afraid. Her scans all came back clear, although we do suspect that she may have a concussion which we will monitor closely when she wakes up from the anaesthetic. Along with those visible on her arms and face, she has multiple lacerations on her torso and legs, whilst the majority were superficial many required stitches. All in all Ms. Sawyer is doing incredibly well. She pulled through the surgery like a real trooper. You’ve got a strong one there. Do any of you have any questions?”

“When will she wake up?” Kara asks as they all process the information the doctor had just given them.

“Any time now, the sedative and anaesthetic should be wearing off so it’s just a matter of time before she’s awake and we can continue to examine her.”

“She has a fever.” Alex says quietly, still staring at Maggie.

“Ms. Sawyer is on a standard course of antibiotics which should clear it. There’s no need to worry about that just yet.”

“So where do we go from here?” J’onn asks, gaining Alex’s attention, hey eye’s leaving Maggie but still lovely holding her hand.

“As I said, we’re just waiting on her to wake up. Then we’ll be able to assess the level of concussion and monitor the fever and her blood pressure. Her shoulder will need time to heal but the surgery went as well as it could,” the doctors voice softens as she continues to speak, “and of course, with the trauma she has gone through we don’t know how she will react when she wakes up so please let us know straight away so that we can step in and help if she needs-“

 

**9.13pm**

 

The doctor cuts herself off as both she and Alex realise that Maggie is awake when she begins to move. Her eyes are darting around the room, panic etched on her face. The doctor quickly hits the emergency button and attempts to restrain Maggie to stop her from doing more damage. “Ms. Sawyer, I need you to relax. You’re in the hospital, you’re safe.”

The Doctor's words fall on deaf ears and she asks the nurse to fetch a sedative to relax her. Maggie began to struggle more violently against the doctor and more staff step in to help hold her to the bed, causing Maggie to scream. Alex couldn’t be sure if she was screaming in pain or because she was scared, this was a side of Maggie she had never seen before. Usually so stoic, she’s known for her ability to handle pain and she was on some pretty high pain medication so Alex took it to be the latter. Alex grabbed Maggie’s fighting right hand with both of hers and moved between two nurses. She hadn’t realised that the sedative had already been administered when she began talking, not realising that Maggie was slowly moving less.

“Maggie. You’re okay.” Her eyes fluttered shut and her hand went limp once again. “I love you.” Alex mumbles, realising that Maggie probably can’t hear her now. Tears spring to Alex’s eyes, she can’t believe that any of this is real. Kara moves towards her and puts an arm around Alex’s shoulder, pulling her into a side hug.

“She’s reopened some of the wounds, so we’re going to need to suture those. It might be best if you go and get some food or air for a little while. She’ll be out for a few hours and I’m going to up her pain meds because it looked as if she was still in some discomfort.”

“Okay, great, thank you, Doctor.” Kara says loudly. “Come on Al, let’s go and get you a coffee and let them patch her up.”

“I don’t want to leave her. You guys go. I’ll just wait here.”

“Alex…”

“I’m not leaving her again, Kara.”

“We’ll be a call away, okay?” J’onn says softly. Alex nods, grateful that he isn’t arguing with her. He leads Kara out of the room until Alex is left with the doctor and an intern.

“You can stay but I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to step away from her just while we fix these stitches.” Alex silently complies after pressing a soft kiss to Maggie’s forehead. She uses this time to comprehend Maggie’s reaction to waking up.

Alex doesn’t move from Maggie’s side after the doctors finish attending to her stitches. Kara and J’onn come and go, checking in on them both whilst bringing Alex food and coffee. Patty and Maggie’s captain come in to visit, offering support to Alex and stationing NCPD officers to guard Maggie’s recovery room and floor to replace D.E.O. agents.

 

**4.38am**

 

Alex is almost falling asleep by the time Maggie begins to wake up again. This time she can tell that it’s going to be much more gentle as Maggie is coming round slowly. Alex took hold of her hand and gently stroked the side of Maggie’s face in an attempt to comfort the woman as she woke. “Hey,” Alex says softly when Maggie’s eyes flutter open and shut for the first time, “You’re awake.” Alex can’t help the smile that forms on her face as she watches her girlfriend come round. “You’re safe Maggie. Just don’t try to move too much.” Maggie keeps her eyes closed but Alex can tell that she can hear her.

At this moment, it strikes Alex just how much she truly loves the woman lying in front of her. Maggie makes Alex want to be a better person. Alex views the world in a different way thanks to Maggie. She’s evolved, they both have. Their relationship is a steady ground, allowing them space to grow, both as individuals and as a couple. Often, their love for each other is the only thing they could each rely on when their lives hit the fan. She doesn’t want to think of a day when Maggie isn’t by her side, being her biggest supporter and reality check. It’s here that her decision is confirmed. One day she will ask her to be her wife.


	3. Maggie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning - contains references to self-harm.

Alex understood exactly what the broken ornaments scattered all over the living room meant and it wasn’t good. She treads carefully into the room, placing the tipped coffee table back into its rightful place. Making sure not to step on the mess of smashed china and glass, as she makes her way out of the living room and into the hall. Leaving behind the destruction of trinkets and objects riddled with memories of the couple.  
Listening out she can’t hear a sound, except for the grandfather clock, which stands at the end of the hall, simply ticking away. Maggie had made her buy it. Summer ’08. They went out on a mini road trip for a few days and passed a charity shop. Forcing Alex to pull over, she dragged her in after falling head over heels for this clock. They drove the remainder of the journey home sharing the car with a chunk of useless wood. Once they got back home, she eventually paid to have it spruced up and working again. The smile on Maggie’s face when she arrived home from work to see the clock waiting for her was one Alex will never forget.

Walking past the clock and climbing the stairs, she took in the sight which lay before her on the landing. Clothes sprawled out all over the floor, socks hanging from photographs, underwear resting on the bannister. Alex picks up what she can and dumps them in the laundry basket where they belong, awaiting their fate in the washing machine, before being placed in a drawer ready to be worn yet again.

She heads down the hallway past the bathroom and the spare room. Stalking past her own abnormally neat and organised study. Alex stopped when she got outside the master bedroom. Raising her fist slightly, she bangs her knuckles against the solid wood door. Knowing not to expect a reply, she gently pushes the door ajar. The scene in front of her playing out over and over- the all too familiar mess, the contents of the drawers and wardrobe now occupying the floor. Stepping further into the room, she looks around. And finds what she’s been looking for.  
Her brunette hair a knotted mess resting upon her head. Her eyes bloodshot and puffy, her face blotchy and red, stained with tear tracks. Her body rippling with the sound of her sobs, hands shaking not knowing what to do with herself. Head smashing against the wall behind her as she tries to shrink further into the corner she’s chosen to escape into. The many calamitous thoughts dashing through her head, racing blindingly fast, making it impossible to comprehend them, or even slow them down. To her, it’s like someone’s put a movie on fast forward inside her head. The feeling of hopelessness fills her. Everything churns through her head, confusing her, dragging her further away from reality.

Alex knows what she has to do. Walking around and stopping just in front of the vulnerable woman cowering in a corner.  
“Maggie..hey, stop. You’re okay, he’s not here.” her voice has a soft quality, yet still sounds authoritative and strong. Maggie’s eyes open slightly and her head stops banging on the wall.

“H-h-he's..” she stammers between sobs. Groaning in pain she shifts slightly and rests the side of her face against the wall.

“It’s only you and me here Maggie. He’s not going to hurt you.” She tells her. It’s not unusual for this to happen, however, Alex has never seen her quite this bad. Never before has she banged her head against the wall with so much force. Alex leans forward in her crouched position and slowly places her hand on Maggie’s knee, before it is quickly jerked away and Maggie scrambles to put distance between herself and the hand that touched her, eyes glued shut.  
“Maggie. Listen to my voice. It’s Alex. He’s not here. You’re safe. No one is going to hurt you.” 

This was a more unusual occurrence. Normally, when Maggie spoke it meant that she was pulling through and had anchored herself to Alex and the realisation that He was no longer there. This time appeared different and Alex couldn’t help but wonder what had brought on such a bad episode. Maggie hadn’t flinched away from her touch like that since the first month prior to the incident. 

 

“M-make it st-op.” Maggie stutters, her chest rising and falling violently as she sobs. Her t-shirt is raised, showing off her stomach, laced with thick white and purple healed scars, some newer than others. Maggie’s head drops slightly, and she puts her hand out. Alex slowly reaches for it, her skin tingling at Maggie’s cold touch who shivers and takes a few shaky deep breaths. Alex runs her thumb over her fingers and grips on to her hand.

Reaching around her body, she lifts the smaller woman up and places her on the bed, just like she has done so many times before. Pulling the duvet back, she settles against the bedsheet, her breathing calming significantly. Alex crawls in behind her and places her hands on her waist gently.

“M-my head hurts.” She whispers flinching at the volume of her own voice.

“Get some sleep, you’ll feel better.” She says softly, Maggie’s eyes scrunch tighter with every word Alex speaks. She pulls Maggie’s body further into her and just holds the shaking woman in her arms, tracing circles on her stomach. Maggie’s head begins to empty, fingertips begin to tap against each-other and her toes begin to wiggle. Alex simply keeps her hold on Maggie, used to her little movements. Maggie stares at the blank wall in front of her, her eyes growing heavy from crying and staring. Her movements begin to slow as she drifts off to sleep.  
Waiting until she is firmly asleep before moving away from her. Alex climbs gingerly off the bed and beings to put their room back together. Picking up the drawers and folding up the clothes. Next, she moves onto the hall, then the living room. Sweeping up the broken ornaments and replacing things to their normal home. Within less than an hour, the house looks normal. She checks on her sleeping beauty periodically. Her slumber continues.

 

Finally, Alex enters the kitchen and pulls out some plates and two mugs. She puts two sesame seed bagel’s into the toaster and presses down the leaver, before filling up the kettle to boil. She put’s the instant coffee into the mugs, one with milk and one without for Maggie. Eventually, everything is ready and Alex places the double toasted, dry bagel’s onto a tray alongside both coffees and carries them upstairs. She puts the tray on the floor before gently waking Maggie, pulling her from the depths of her sleep.

 

“Coffee and bagel?" Alex suggests softly. She knows Maggie will never say no to this combination, it was the first food she ever saw the woman make. Somehow it always manages to make her smile and later she says it makes her feel better, calmer. Once Maggie is awake enough to process what was said, she simply smiles and sits up cross-legged, dragging the duvet up with her. Accepting the plate which she rests in her lap and cups the mug with her much steadier, calmer hands. Maggie doesn’t say anything. She knows by now that she doesn’t need too. Once she’s finished with her coffee and bagel, Alex drops two painkillers onto her plate and hands her a glass of water. She swallows them and smiles at Alex gratefully. 

“Did you hurt yourself?” Alex asks slowly, afraid of the answer. Maggie runs a hand across her stomach and then up to her head, feeling a small bump.

“My head.” Maggie mutters as she feels a small bump forming. Alex slowly reaches up and gently runs her fingers over the same area before nodding.

“Do you think you need to get it looked at?” Maggie shakes her head.

“I don’t want too.”

“Okay. Would you like a shower?” Maggie nods slowly. Both women get off the bed and head into the en-suite bathroom. Alex grabs a fresh towel and helps Maggie undress and get into the shower. Alex turns to leave, giving her some privacy when Maggie reaches for her arm.

“Stay?” Maggie pleads. Alex nods and sits on the edge of the bathtub opposite the shower.

“I’ll be right here.” Maggie nods and disappears behind the curtain, the sound of the water hitting the floor changes as she moves.

It breaks Alex’s heart to see her normally so vibrant and light-hearted girlfriend like this, but she finds some solace in knowing that Maggie is open with her and has already come such a long way since the initial incident that sparked these haunting episodes. She wonders if there will come a day where her love isn't traumatised by the actions in her past. She knows neither of them will ever forget but she has hope that one day Maggie will be able to live without this level of fear constantly holding her back and impacting her quality of life.

She silently promises Maggie that she will continue to be with her every step of the way.

Their love is stronger than this.


	4. Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this really didn't go where i had intended it to go, but honestly, i need it out of my drafts otherwise i'm never going to stop and i /really/ need to finish my uni work
> 
> so enjoy, hopefully it's not been too awful

Velvet snow covered plants and paths stared back at them from outside the window of their kitchen. Alex keeps her eyes on the robin, hopping around the garden without a care in a world. She is, however, the polar opposite. Her mind races, images and thoughts sprinting through her head. Unable to make them slow down, let alone stop.  
Maggie is stood a few meters back, leaning on their breakfast bar, watching her love stare out the window. Remembering how Alex’s eyes glisten when she smiles and the way her lips protrude slightly, similar to a newborn baby. The way Alex’s cheeks flush a light shade of red each time she looks at her and the freckles that decorate her face. How Alex curls her hair so that it falls to frame her face perfectly. The way her glasses rest on the bridge of her nose. The birthmark on her shoulder that she hates but Maggie loves. The way her eyes light up when she talks about something she’s passionate about, filling Maggie with the same passion. The way her hoodie is currently pulled over her hands, hiding them from the rest of the world. And the way she can tell that Alex’s fingers are lightly tracing the ring she’s just been given. Memorising every edge and ridge of the diamond sitting on top of the white gold ring. Maggie contemplates the sheer happiness Alex has brought her over the last ten years. The sense of security and safety between the couple fills her heart.

Maggie is drawn from her thoughts by Alex, who abruptly turns and locks eye contact with her. Maggie smiles softly, unsure if this is really, truly happening. Alex returns her smile and Maggie slowly walks towards her, reaching for her hands once she’s opposite Alex. 

“I can’t wait to tell everyone.” Alex gushes as Maggie takes the ring from Alex’s hands and slides it onto her ring finger once again.

“Me either.” Maggie brings Alex’s left hand up to view the ring, “Me either.” She replies and raises Alex’s hand to her lips, leaving soft kisses on her hand before bringing Alex down for a real kiss. The pair eventually break apart and rest their foreheads together.

“I love you with every fibre of my being.” Alex whispers.

“I love you more.” Maggie moves away and kisses Alex’s cheek before nestling into her side. The couple continues to stare out the window, enjoying the falling snow and each other’s company in the quiet.

 

If the walls of their house could talk, they would never stop. Over the last eight years, the couple had been through so much; devastating lows and euphoric highs. So much had changed. But there was one thing that remained strong and constant. Love. Throughout the breakdowns, the sleepless nights, the pain. During the family gatherings, holidays and quiet nights in. Love never faltered.  
Maggie couldn’t think of a better place to propose to Alex. They’d been on big trips and romantic dates but it never felt right. Something so intimate in such a public setting. It just wasn’t their way. No, instead she dropped to one knee in their kitchen. It wasn’t a big, fancy proposal but it was theirs, done there way and neither woman would change a thing. 

 

“I’ll be back in a minute.” Alex says softly, untangling herself from Maggie in their spot in the kitchen and disappears upstairs. Alex beelines for her work trousers hanging in the closet and fishes a ring box out of one of the pockets. She opens the box and studies the white gold band before looking at her own. She can’t help the smile that’s growing on her face, it hasn’t faltered since she realised what Maggie was doing. She snaps the box shuts and stuffs it into the pocket of her hoodie before making her way back to Maggie, who’s standing at the breakfast bar, two mugs of coffee steaming in front of her. Alex sits on one of the stools and reaches over to grab the coffee with milk in it. “Thank you.” She smiles sweetly at Maggie, cupping her hands around the mug, grateful for the warmth.

“Are you hungry?” Maggie asks, oblivious of the reason Alex went upstairs.

“Yeah, but can I talk to you for a sec?” Maggie gives her a puzzled look but smiles and nods. Alex takes a deep breath. “So I never actually got round to planning how I was going to do this, plans changed over the years. Honestly, I don’t even know if it’ll still fit you. But-“ Alex pushes her coffee away slightly and fishes the box out of her hoodie pocket. She pops open the lid and slides the box across the counter towards Maggie. Alex’s eyes don’t leave the back fo the box as she continues to speak, “I’ve wanted to ask you for so long, but I knew how important it was for you to want this and I didn’t want you to feel trapped, so I held off. You’ve probably already seen the ring, but yeah. I guess it’s my turn to ask.” Alex finally looks up at Maggie who has a dumbstruck look on her face.

“Maggie Sawyer, will you marry me?”

“Yes.” The woman smiles as she picks up the ring box and walks around the counter to Alex who takes the ring from the box and slides the simple band onto Maggie’s finger. “It’s perfect. Thank you.” Maggie leans down slightly and kisses Alex softly. When the couple pulls apart, Alex notices Maggie has tears in her eyes.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Alex asks concerned that she’s done something wrong. She gently rubs her hands up and down Maggie’s arms to try to comfort her. Maggie lets her before wiping hard at her face, removing the tears threatening to fall. 

“I just- I never thought I’d actually see this day, you know? It was always the plan and should’ve happened years ago but it was one of the few things that carried me through all that. And here we are. You said yes. I said yes. I’m just so happy. The happiest I’ve ever been.” She smiles, reaching for Alex’s hand and kisses her palm. “And I can’t wait for more happy with you.” Alex pulls her into a hug, her own tears falling now. “We’re getting our happy ending.” The couple stays in each other's arms for while with Maggie stood between Alex’s legs. They whisper sweet nothings and I love you’s to each other until Alex finally bursts their bubble.

“You must’ve seen your ring before though, right? I mean I brought it our first winter in this house.”

“Seriously?! My detective skills are off.”

“You’re kidding?” Maggie shakes her head.

“Where did you hide it?”

“My work trousers, I figured it’d be safe from you because you’d never try to borrow my trousers, tiny.” Maggie bursts out laughing and gives Alex a playful hit on the arm, not appreciating the addition of tiny.

“I did the same thing!” Maggie admits, “Maybe we really are meant to be.”

“You’re only just working that out?” Alex jokes.

“Of course not, Danvers. I’ve known that since day one.” She glances down, admiring the band on her finger. 

All of Maggie’s dreams have come true. She has a fiancé, a house and a job of her dreams. She has friends that are more like the family she never experienced. Thing’s had finally turned upwards for Maggie. Sure, she has the scars to remind her of the past, but she’s getting there. With Alex’s constant support and insistence on therapy, she’s in the best headspace she’s admittedly ever been in, having worked through a lot of trauma from both her adult life but also her childhood. 

Maggie can’t begin to fathom how lucky she is. And Alex, well she feels the same, unable to believe that there is a ring around her finger. Soon to be joined by another, one that would allow her to finally call Maggie her wife. 

“We should probably tell people.”

“Or,” Alex drags, “we can take a day to ourselves like we’d planned and deal with people tomorrow.”

“I like that idea.” Maggie smiles and they both make their way into the living room and decide to play a video game whilst Maggie orders a takeaway. 

“I feel like we’re doing this all wrong.” Alex says once Maggie gets off the phone.

“I don’t. We can do a fancy celebration if you want. But this, right here.” Maggie gestures towards Alex and the tv, “is exactly where I want to be right now. Just you and me, doing what we do and eating our favourite foods. I couldn’t ask for more.” Maggie falls down onto the sofa next to Alex who has a soft look on her face. The pair start up the game and instantly their competitive sides come out.

“Oh, you’re so going down.” 

“The only going down I’ll be doing is between your legs tonight, not now.” Maggie retorts, earning her a playful smack from Alex, who rolls her eyes but can’t help the smile.

“Idiot.”

“You’re the one that wants to marry this idiot.”

“I know.” Alex mumbles, her attention turning from the screen to the woman sat next to her. It takes only a few seconds for Maggie to discard her controller and let out a cheer. She’d won and Alex was going to know about it. Normally, this would bug Alex a little, she never was a good loser. But today was different. She found Maggie’s gloating strangely endearing and vowed to never give the love of her life a reason to not cheer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you made it this far, thank you, i appreciate you. have a good day x


End file.
